


All We Are (is an isle of flightless birds)

by marsakat



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alternate Universe - Penguins, Fluff, Implied animal abuse, M/M, Zoo, tyler is a sad lonely penguin and Josh is trying to get better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 01:33:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7132715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsakat/pseuds/marsakat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tyler the penguin has trouble making friends and the zookeepers are very worried about him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All We Are (is an isle of flightless birds)

**Author's Note:**

> Of course we gotta use isle of flightless birds lyrics.   
> My prompt was: penguins. Penguins everywhere. I may or may not have cried while writing this but I'm also super tired.

 Once upon a time there was a penguin named Tyler and he lived in the zoo. There were other penguins there too but Tyler didn’t like to play with them. He stayed in a little cave and only came out for some food. Tyler was a weird little penguin–lonely but he didn’t seem to want friends. And all the other penguins were suspicious of him. The zookeepers didn’t know what to do with Tyler and thought about sending him away to a different zoo.

Then one day there was a new penguin, who had been rescued from a bad zoo that didn’t treat the animals well. So this penguin was on the small side and very timid. The zookeepers were very focused on getting him acclimated to the penguin group because he’d been very sick when he was rescued.

Josh had been in the main exhibit for three days when he stopped being scared to leave the shelter in the back. Stepping out with a sense of wonder into the habitat that was clean! And big! With many places to explore, water to swim in, and new penguins to meet! So he cautiously made his way around the exhibit, making new friends, and eating well– the zookeepers took note.

It took him two more days to find Tyler’s cave. The zookeepers watched careful to see if Tyler would chase Josh away or ignore him invading his private space. But Tyler examined the small intruder with newfound curiosity, letting Josh spend time near him much longer than he had ever allowed with any other penguin. Maybe he sensed the adversity the other one had been through and empathized. The zookeepers were so excited–snapping lots of photographs.

The next day, Josh made his way straight to Tyler’s cave and they spent more time together. Josh only left when the zookeepers brought in fresh fish treats. Tyler still wouldn’t leave his cave so the zookeepers squealed in delight when Josh returned to the cave with a snack for Tyler! Tyler hadn’t had the treat before since he never joined the group of penguins. It seemed that the temptation of a tasty treat was enough to get Tyler to venture from his sanctuary.

Josh stuck by his side when Tyler left his cave for the first time of his own volition and not necessitated by need or zookeepers’ insistence. He let Josh direct him to the water where they swam for awhile. And then joined the group for the evening meal. Everyone was astounded and it only got better from there; Josh got healthy and strong, and Tyler spent more time outside of the cave and with the rest of the penguins.

So the two lived a happy experience in the zoo with all the other penguins. They say penguins mate for life, and it was obvious that this was a matched pair.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt me @ teeentyonepilots on tumblr. Or come cry about joshler penguins with me.   
> (I wrote this in like 15 mins so excuse the flaws and typos)


End file.
